


Icarus

by Mystic_Ender



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Hunger Games-Typical Death/Violence, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:20:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 24,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29115138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystic_Ender/pseuds/Mystic_Ender
Summary: Jessica had always loved the sun. There was something comforting to it, there was something that she couldn't help but love. She had read everything about it, every science book she could find, every myth she could find.She never thought, however, that she would become like Icarus. Being affixed a pair of wings on her back and told to fly, fly to get out.While for Icarus it had been a labyrinth, for her... it was an arena.
Relationships: Original Female Character(s) & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings, and welcome to: Moss procrastinates continuing her ACTUAL main series by writing a side one-shot meanwhile!
> 
> This time around, we're following Jessica's games. Settle in, and relax, because for once, the only thing I'm following are my ideas and impulses ;))

Jessica had always loved the sun.

She had always loved the warmth it gave, she had always loved the happiness it brought her. It made her forget every time she went outside to simply lay on the ground and bathe in its rays, and it made her feel like she was in a better world, somewhere. Somewhere she had always wished to be, where she didn’t have to go build whatever gadget was required in the factories after school. Where she could simply be a child, hanging out with friends, causing problems without the constant fear of having the Peacekeepers coming after you.

She had read all the stories associated with it, too. She could remember hiding in her room long past midnight, reading under her covers with an electric torch when she knew that she would need to be up early the next morning. She could remember passing her fingers over the words of the tale of Icarus, the man who had flown too close to the sun. She couldn’t understand why his father had told him to come back; yes, he had died, but at the same time, he had been so close to reaching the one thing he loved, the one thing he had wished with all of his heart. Who would discourage their son to go for the thing they loved the most?

She didn’t understand it.

She could remember whispering to her two older cousins about it when she couldn’t be older than ten. They were on their way to the factory that day. Jessica wasn’t supposed to start working in there just yet, she had yet another couple of years, but she had always liked walking there with her cousins. She had asked them why they never went for what they wanted, why they never fought to become what they wished to be. They had shushed her, and at her offended look, they had sighed deeply and decided to answer her.

“We can’t do what we want. Our lives are dictated by those higher in rank than us, they are dictated by the District we were born in.” Cassandra had answered. She was six years older than her, and at sixteen, she had already lost all hope of doing something she actually wanted. They were too poor to start a shop, and there was no way she could marry herself into a family that owned one. 

“Sometimes… sometimes not having hope is better than having any.” Daniella had added. She was Cassandra’s younger sister, and she was four years older than Jess. She had taken a pause after that first statement, before saying the next part with a mumble. “You can’t lose what you can’t have, after all.”

She could remember being mad at them, once they had told her that. She could remember being bitter that they didn’t fight to become what they wished to be, she was bitter that they didn’t decide to forge a path all of their own. They gave her no hope with that answer, and she was so, so disappointed. Her anger had eventually faded, but the answer remained in the back of her head. It remained there as she grew up, and every day she saw what they meant when they said that sometimes following the path that was given to you, to not have hope, was easier. She did not agree with it yet, and she doubted she ever would, but she saw what they meant.

She saw it especially the day of The Reaping the year that she was fourteen.

“Jess! Jess! Jess!” A voice called out, shaking her as she did so. It didn’t do much, as Jess only grumbled and turned under her covers and buried herself deeper with a small whine, trying to kick the person away from the top of her bed. The only thing it did, however, was make the person even more determined to wake her up. The person huffed a bit and completely pushed Jess off the bed, uncaring of the yelp she got in response. “Are you awake now?!”

“I don’t know, if I say yes will you leave me alone?” She simply grumbled, pushing the covers away from her face to stare at the girl that was now sitting on her bed, legs crossed. Ariel was her younger cousin, by a year only. The two saw each other more as siblings more than anything, considering they pretty much grew up together, not able to remember a time where the other wasn’t around. Granted, for Jess, it was the same with Cassandra and Daniella, but considering the age gap… it was hard to be close to them. So, she was closest to Ariel out of her three cousins.

“No, because you’ll only fall back asleep,” Ariel said simply, grinning widely at the glare she got in return. She moved away from the bed when Jessica got back up, still smiling wide from the reaction she got from that tiny wake up call. “See, I remember that time I said I’d allow you to have five minutes before you brought me to the factory, and-”

“And I slept for an hour instead, making us be late instead, I know.” Jess snapped a little, and rubbed at her eyes. “Do you even know what day it is?”

“The Reaping, yeah.”

“So you don’t think you should be, I don’t know-”

“Calmer?” Ariel said, cutting off Jess. Her grin wiped off her face, and she frowned a little in contemplation as she tilted her head and crossed her arms, humming as she thought. Obviously, she wasn’t really thinking, she did it more to annoy Jess with how long she was taking to answer. “No, no I don’t think I should be.”

Jess simply stared at her after that, and instead of giving her a verbal response, she simply took her pillow and threw it at Ariel’s head, which only gained her a screech as she ran out of the room, screaming for her mother. There was laughter mixed in there, showing that she was obviously joking and didn’t exactly mean to tell her mother what Jess had done. This was regular for the both of them, and despite how annoying Ariel could be, Jess still very much loved her.

After a few minutes of simply standing there, trying to get her brain gears into working, she finally moved to her window and threw the curtains open to look down upon the roads of the District. There weren’t many people out there already, considering many of them were either still sleeping or still getting prepared for the Reaping. Because, after all, it was a very public event. One none wanted, seeing that it announced the beginning of the Games, but a public event anyway. Many brought out their best clothes for this, many took the time to clean up for this.

Jess could remember the times she had attended the Reapings before she turned twelve. When she was six, seven years old, she didn’t quite grasp what they meant yet, besides the fact that oftentimes, the two people who were on the stage were brought back home, dead, and that whatever happened on the screen during the Games, it was bad enough that her aunt told her to close her eyes most of the time. She could remember being nervous for Cassandra and Daniella, too, each year during that day.

Though, as she grew up and truly began understanding what was happening as she was taught it in school, her nervousness for the day of the Reaping only grew worse. She dreaded that day each year, fear pooling in her gut more and more as each year passed by. The year that she had turned twelve and that the day of the Reaping came around, she hadn’t even slept that night. She had spent it curled up under her covers, crying. She had eventually moved to go share Cassandra and Daniella’s bed, and Ariel had eventually joined them, but she still hadn’t slept and she had certainly looked like it when she had stood with the other girls for the first time.

Now, she was fourteen, and about to attend her third Reaping. She knew there were high chances she would never be selected for it, considering her name was only in there three times since she had never gotten any Tesserae, but she was still scared. Terrified for it. Her hands were shaking the whole time she brushed her hair before tying it in a high ponytail above her head, causing the ribbon she added to it to be tied… a bit awkwardly. It wasn’t ideal, but she made due.

Once she had changed into Daniella’s old dress, a dusty yellow thing whose skirt reached her ankles instead of her knees as it had done for Daniella when she had worn it, she took a deep breath and slowly got down the stairs to meet up with the rest of her family. Ariel had changed into a sky blue dress, and her hair had been tied half up half down with a small flower pin. She, Jess, and Daniella were the only ones left who had to go through this. Well, Daniella would not need to go through this again next year if she wasn’t chosen considering she was eighteen, but… it was still terrifying.

“Are you all ready?” Aria asked, looking over the three girls who stood in front of her. Her brown hair, streaked with silver from age and stress, was braided loosely over her shoulder. She was in a simple beige skirt and a white button-up shirt, with a pink, light scarf over her shoulders. The whole thing was much simpler than what she, Ariel, and Daniella wore, but she certainly made it look like it cost so much more than it did. She always had that air of elegance about her. “We can- we can always push it for five minutes, wait for a little if you all need-”

“Mom, we’re fine,” Daniella assured. She reached for Ariel’s hand, then Jess’s, and squeezed them a bit before nodding and smiling weakly. “We should go. We’ll be late otherwise, and I don’t think any of us wish to be arrested.”

Jess barely registered the walk. She barely registered walking through the familiar streets, making her way to the square, where the stage stood along with the large screen that would be filming the walk of the Reaped to the stage where they would shake hands with the host. She looked away from it once they reached the register, where some of her blood was taken to show she was attending. She had to part with her aunt and Daniella after that, though Ariel stayed for as long as she could considering she was only but a few rows behind her. She was thirteen, after all.

She barely registered the usual stuff that was said at the beginning, too. She barely listened to it anyway, it always got boring the second time you heard it along with all the times after that. Sometimes she could hear Cassandra joke by reciting it from memory just to annoy her, Ariel, and Daniella, and despite the context of that speech, it was funny to hear. Once that was done and over with, she watched the host walk onto the stage, a tall lanky man whose electric purple curls were let loose on his shoulders.

“Welcome back to the Hunger Games, everyone, and may the odds ever be in your favor!” The man said, with a large smile on his face that showed his very much white teeth. His voice was much higher than she expected it to be, and she wondered if it was one of the things the man had changed back at the Capitol. A new trend, maybe. “As usual, we’ll begin with the girls!”

She watched as the man clad in an electric blue suit walked to the glass bowl, fear pumping into her veins.

She bit her lip as she watched him reach inside, shoving his hand in the mess of paper and grab one before bringing it back out and opening it while humming to himself.

He brought the mic to his lips, and…

“Jessica Flores!”

**Shit.**


	2. Chapter 2

The room she was in was probably one of the fanciest she had ever been in her whole life.

The couches were velvety and soft, and sitting on them felt like sitting on a cloud. There were no tears into them like the ones at home, the pillows were not as sunk in as she was used to, so she was surprised she hadn’t sunk into the couch when she sat on it for the first time. The wallpaper wasn’t dull from the sun, it wasn’t stained from the misadventures four kids would bring to one’s home growing up, and it wasn’t curling up at the tops, near the ceiling. The floorboard didn’t creak and you didn’t have to learn to avoid planks to be able to go the bathroom in the middle of the night without waking up anyone, and the plants weren’t on their way to dying from the number of times she forgot to water them.

This room screamed luxury, compared to her home that was trying its best to stay up during the winters. It was odd to be there right after being called. Some part of her had expected to be brought to a cage or a cell, somewhere where she knew she couldn’t escape. Though she knew that in some way it was, if the way the Peacekeepers stood at the doors meant anything. This was a prison cell, just a very fancy one that didn’t fill you with dread. She supposed she should feel dread, anyway. She should be, considering she had been called to be sent into the Games, along with one other boy she didn’t recognize. Yet… she felt nothing. Just some numbness, a sort of apathy. She wondered if she would feel like this the whole time she would be training, before going into the arena. Because after all, it would probably be easier this way, wouldn’t it?

She was alone for a long time, before her family finally came around. Or at least, it felt for a long time. Aria was in tears already, Cassandra’s face was cold though she knew she must have been screaming from the inside, Daniella’s eyes were crazed as she stared at her, and Ariel… Ariel didn’t look worried. Which, surprised her. She had expected her to be as emotional as the rest of the lot, but she obviously wasn’t. Aria was the first one to come to her and hold her tight in her arms, petting her hair as she cried.

“Oh, my dear sweetheart… what are you gonna do now?” Her voice cracked at the end of that sentence, and she kept holding Jess close to her, obviously trying to get herself under control. Jess didn’t know if her aunt held much hope in her at all, but she supposed it was her way to tell her to try and come up with a plan. She had always been an emotional woman, always been a worrier for her family. Who could blame her, really? You see your three daughters and your niece go through a Reaping, who wouldn’t be biting at their nails?

“Mom, let her breathe a little,” Cassandra was the one to pry her mother away from Jessica, and the blonde girl looked at Jess with a weak, sad smile. She brought a hand to her shoulder and dragged her into a quick hug, before holding her at arms’ length. “You know, I always thought you would be doing great things but… that wasn’t what I meant. You know what to do, don’t you?”

“Win,” Jess blurted out, simply. After all, it was pretty much all she could do yet. She had no basis to come up with a plan, nothing to work off. But one thing she knew, of course, was to come back home. Come back to her family, breathing, alive and safe. This was her plan, for now, and she would make sure to follow it. “Win. That’s what I have to do.”

“Atta girl.” Daniella said, and pushed her older sister away to put an arm around Jessica’s shoulder. In her eyes, it was obvious that she was scared out of her mind. Daniella had never been one to put her faith into something that would bring her only but ruin, she was always the type to close off to avoid being hurt. But seeing those eyes, scared and filled with a pang of sadness, it meant that for once in her life, Daniella was believing in something again. Something rocky, with high chances of failing, but something nonetheless. “What do you think, Ariel? Think our little library rat here can do it?”

“Obviously,” Ariel said, with a smile and a shrug. The brown-haired girl still looked very much unbothered, as if all of this was but a minor inconvenience that would pass. She stared at Jess, her blue eyes hardened with a determination and hope she had seen so many times before. But it was the first time it was directed towards her, in a situation she couldn’t control. “She’s smarter than all of them. She’ll figure something out.”

“You put too much faith in me, Ariel, I swear.” Jess chuckled a little, though her heart was beating hard in her chest. She was still somewhat numb, but she certainly felt like she could accomplish something. Like she could truly come back. Her family wouldn’t be there with her to help her, but they were there in spirit. They were giving her their hope, something they never had much of before. Well, except for Ariel. Ariel had always been a special case, a ray of sunshine in their home. 

“Don’t think like that, you’ll do it. You’ll come back.” Ariel crossed her arms, and raised her chin in defiance. “Because if you don’t, I’ll make sure to find a way to kill you myself.”

“I’m sure you will.”

They had to leave soon after that. The Peacekeepers had come in, having to physically drag Aria away from Jess, but despite that, they had left with as little of a fuss as possible. No one else came to see her, no friend came to bid her goodbye, but she didn’t mind. She supposed there were worse things. Her family could not have come around at all, and she was grateful that they come. They had come to bid her goodbye, and it was with a raised head and a heart full of hope that she marched her way to that train, the boy along with her. She didn’t know him, and she doubted she wanted to. She needed to get home, first and foremost, and having a friend there with her would only bring her trouble.

When dinner came around, however, that hope was hard to keep around.

The host barely touched his food, instead too occupied to pucker his lips in front of a hand mirror and apply a heavy coat of bright orange lipstick on his thin lips. The color clash with his bright purple curls and his electric blue suit certainly was… an interesting clash of color. Add to that that his pupils had been modified to look like little thunderbolts and… yeah, he certainly gave her an impression.

“Are you going to talk to us at all?” Jess finally snapped after a little, slamming her fork on the table to look at the guy. The man simply raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, lipstick still in hand as he stared at her with light disgust. “Give us tips or something? You’re from the Capitol, aren’t you? You know how they work.”

“Oh, darling, that’s not my job,” The man chuckled in pure amusement as if her ignorance was the best thing he had seen all day. He closed his tube of lipstick and put it away in his vest’s pocket, before leaning his head on the back of his hand to look at her properly. “Besides. It’s not like I care anyway.”

“What? You’re our _host-_ ” 

“So? It’s not in the job description, darling. I just name names, do my little show, and… voilà.” He did a small jazz hand with his free hand, before chuckling and pointing at the guy beside her. Her supposed teammate. “He seems to have understood that, anyway. Isn’t he a sweetheart? He didn’t bother me. Unlike you.”

“I can’t believe you.” She said, staring at him, a look of disgust on her face. 

“The one before you said the exact same thing, sweetheart. This isn’t my first rodeo.” He got up after that and dusted his suit off. He looked at his manicured hands for a second, before blowing on his bright orange nails and waving at her. “Well, your mentor should come around soon enough. A little reminder, sweetheart. Unlike me, his job is to give tips. Toodles!”

She watched him leave, opening her mouth and closing it a couple of times, not even believing the nerves of that guy. He acted as if she knew nothing- which, in some ways, she supposed she did- but it didn’t mean she was ignorant. She had the highest results in her classes, she probably knew more things than he did, and she hated that he acted as if that didn’t matter at all. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to see him around at all. She really hoped she didn’t. She had a feeling that if she saw him again, she would do something she would regret. She turned to stab into her meat after that, and simply angrily ate to ignore the frustration she felt.

Her mentor came maybe an hour after dinner. He was one of the only winner left for District Three, all the others having passed to either overdose or old age. Sometimes it was a freak accident or something along those lines, but they usually remained in those two. He was the only one left along with another man by the name of Angelo Knight, who obviously wasn’t there from how unstable mentally he was. Beetee Latier would be the one to replace him during mentoring, despite the fact he was older. Jess watched him from where he sat in front of her and the male tribute. He was calm, with calculating eyes. It was obvious that he was a winner, but while she had expected to feel as if she couldn’t trust him, the only thing she felt was… a mix of respect and trust. 

“So. We should get to work, shouldn’t we?” Beetee folded his hands in front of him as he leaned forward a little. He knew what he had to do, and Jessica certainly felt like she had a chance, with him at the commands. She felt like she had a chance to go home, and hope swirled in her chest. “What do you two know how to do? You have most likely began working in factories, haven’t you?”

“For two years for me,” Jess answered first. The boy beside her glared at her, as if she should have let him talk first, and the only thing she did was raise an eyebrow at him.

“Three years for me.” The boy answered. He straightened up a little when Beetee nodded, as if he thought their mentor was proud of him for being fifteen. Which, would be ridiculous. How clueless was the boy? Jess simply rolled her eyes and looked back at their mentor.

“Yes, that’s good, but that doesn’t answer my question,” Beetee repeated, looking at them with a raised eyebrow. “What are your talents. What do you know best, what is something only YOU know among this sea of tributes?”

Jess thought for a moment, looking at her hands. What did she know? She didn’t exactly have the time to discover everything in school just yet. She still had a few years before she had to choose her specific classes so that she learned a certain path. So, she was still learning everything about technology and mechanics. But… there was a little thing, that she constantly exceeded everyone about during exams, and that she understood exceptionally well.

And as it turns out, it was Beetee’s specialty too, back during his Games.

She straightened herself up to look at Beetee, a glint of determination shining in her blue eyes.

“Electricity.”

“Now that,” Beetee smiled at her. “I can work with.”


	3. Chapter 3

Getting prepared had been excruciating.

Her preparation team had shown no gentleness as they prepared her, they gave her no warnings, no nothing. They simply stayed silent and looked at her with cold eyes, before getting to work. Well, no. They had not been exactly cold. They looked like wax statues, with smiles carefully sculpted on their faces, but there was nothing behind the eyes. No emotions, no nothing. They looked amused, they laughed, they talked, but it was as if they were nothing but an illusion, constantly behind a façade to distance themselves from the reality of the world. It was unsettling to say the least, as she watched them work.

They lifted her arms, made her turn like a careful porcelain puppet that could be broken at any given moment, they had laughed at some of the old scars on her back, causing her cheeks to turn bright red, and they had lifted her hair and laughed some more at the state of it. She had no clue what was going through their minds, and she hated it. She felt like she was mocked the whole time they polished her and worked on making her scars disappear, she felt like she was only but a piece of meat being prepared before being sent off to be looked over one last time.

When they finally left, her skin was soft and smelled faintly of apples because of the perfume that had been sprayed all over her, and her strawberry blonde hair was the healthiest she had ever seen it. It was pinned carefully on top of her head in a crown braid, and she could feel the pins still in her scalp. They made her head itch, and she hated it. But, well. She had to live through it, as silently as she could to avoid having these people against her. She had seen it last year, with District Twelve. She didn’t know what had happened, but she would rather not know and not take any risks.

When her stylist made her way in, Jess blinked in light surprise.

The woman’s hair was incredibly short, unlike anything she had seen on the women of the Capitol and was dressed in spikes on her head. The green of it made it seem as if she had grass growing on her head, it was certainly… surprising to see. Her ears seem to have been modified so that they looked like elf ears, and dangly flower earrings covered most of it. Her hands were tattooed with various daisies and other prairie flowers and continued up her uncovered arms. Her sleeveless suit was a sky blue, which surprised her considering she had expected a… tacky color, like her host on the train. All in all, she seemed like a kind enough woman, if a little odd in appearance.

But then again, she preferred not to be fooled by appearances.

“You’re Jessica, right?” She began, making her way over her. She didn’t even wait to ask if she could touch her, instead just taking her arm right away to see if the preparation team had done what she had asked. At Jessica’s nod, the woman just smiled and let the arm drop. “Good. If you weren’t, I would be asking questions. My name’s Fable, I will be your stylist for the duration of the Games- and maybe after, if you survive.”

“If?” 

“Oh, please, don’t sound so offended. Many assume their tributes will die right away. Which, maybe you will but that is not the point, not right now. I’m here to talk about, well… your outfit, for the parade.” Fable continued, babbling on and on. The fact that she held a little faith in her was reassuring, she supposed, even if what she added right after was certainly… a little bit offending in a way, she supposed. “Now, freckles are extremely out of fashion in the Capitol right now, so hiding them might be for your best interest, at least until the Games. Will allow you to gain more sponsors.”

“I’m not hiding my freckles,” Jess snapped right after that last statement, not allowing Fable to continue on. Because she knew Fable was about to propose ways for her to hide them, and possibly start without her approval. She did not want to cover her freckles. She had been self-conscious about them most of her life, she did not want to hide them now. If she was going into the Games, she was going as herself. She was not changing herself for the sponsors, she refused to. 

“That, is what I figured you would say.” Fable said with a small smile, before moving away and crossing her arms. “Which is why I had an idea in mind to work with those and make you appealing to them either way. If I get to work right now, I should be able to connect your freckles on your cheeks- or arms- to look like some sort of circuit board. It would suit your dress, too, which I’ll bring out for you to put on in an instant.”

Fable left soon after that and came back with her outfit. The dress was… interesting to say the least. It’s not that it was ugly; it was just… it was both memorable and not at the same time. The braided wires were impressive, considering how robust they were, how hard they were to bend. The fact they had been able to braid them and weave them together was mind-blowing, but the fact that the wires were all copper, gold, and silver was… well. Those were not colors you remembered easily or something that made you remember someone. But still, she put it on. Thankfully there was a layer of silver fabric on the inside to avoid the wires to irritate her skin and hurt her, which she was grateful for. After that, Fable brought out a belt, something composed of various electronic parts, that she put around her waist and tightened as much as she could.

Yeah, needless to say, she could barely breathe.

Once the makeup was applied and that some parts of her arms and her neck were painted to look like circuit boards, making her feel as if she was a god damn robot when she looked at herself in the mirror, she was finally allowed to leave. Which, she was grateful for, since she could barely stand being handled anymore. She had spent enough time that day being poked and prodded for probably the rest of her life, though she knew it would happen again before the interview; which, she still didn’t look forward to.

She was the first one at the chariot, between her and her partner. Which, she was grateful for. She did NOT like him, and she had a feeling he didn’t like her either. Something she did not mind, truly, since if she wanted to go home it meant he had to die. The less attached she was to him, the better. 

It still made her feel somewhat ridiculous, however, as she stood there waiting for her partner to get there. The parade would not start for a little bit still, but she would rather not stress wondering if she would be alone or not on that chariot when it had to leave. Had it even happened, before? That someone stood all alone on it? She doubted it did, and she would rather NOT be the first time it ever happened. Granted, it would bring attention to her, but she had no clue if it would be the good kind or the kind that made you not have any sponsors. Which, she needed.

She decided quickly enough that she needed to get her mind off this.

She supposed that looking around at the Tributes who were already there couldn’t… really hurt. She had watched the Reapings on the train, after all, she would just be taking in the competition in person instead of on-screen. Not that bad.

The boy from District One was there already. Onyx Dunn. He was not that impressive compared to past tributes from One, he lacked the musculature or determination they held. His outfit did nothing to help him on that first aspect either, the outfit overly simple and only covered in diamonds. It seemed that the stylist had trouble with inspiration this year, and she knew that it would affect the guy’s chances at sponsors. Not that it was a problem to her, anyway.

The boy and girl from District Four were there, too. Tara Marsh and Flint Pitway. Tara was perhaps the youngest out of all of them, at twelve years old. She was terrified and it showed, and Flint did nothing to help her. He simply stood on his chariot, bored out of his mind as the little girl stood there on the verge of tears. Their outfits weren’t much, though she did like Tara’s. It looked like one of those dresses women wore in Ancient Greece, though it was made entirely of nets and held by two copper-colored pins at the shoulders. A golden layer of fabric underneath made the whole thing opaque, and it was beautiful.

Then there was the girl from District Nine. Daffodil Springberry. She was eighteen years old and absolutely terrifying, as she stood there. She was easily six feet tall, and her crossed arms made her muscles bulge. She had some sort of suit, the top being a regular vest and shirt while the skirt was long and reached her ankles. The whole thing was covered with various types of grains, and a stick of it was in the pocket at her breast. Not all that impressive, but pretty nonetheless.

Then, there was District Twelve. Reyna Gardner and Jax Nightworth. Reyna was excitedly chatting with her partner, her coal dust-covered overall way too loose on her and not flattering in any way. She had some sort of helmet with a lamp under her arm, which revealed her dark curls were braided hastily over her shoulder. Jax simply nodded and added in from time to time, obviously wanting to be somewhere else at the moment. When he was finally able to slip away, Reyna turned towards Jessica and waved at her with a shy smile, which only made the strawberry blonde girl blink in surprise and wave back, before turning away.

Uh. Odd.

“Are you done making friends with the other tributes?” A voice snapped from behind her.

Ah, there we go. The last tribute from Three. Neem Dawnberg. His outfit was very different from her, and she simply raised a brow at it. The silver fabric shone brightly under the lights, he had some wires tied at the wrist and there was a circuit board print on the fabric. Which, she had too, but instead in makeup form. He, too, had a belt, however. It wasn’t tied as tight as her that much was obvious, and the golden of it made him look like more of a robot than she did. In other words, it was striking, but so, so very ugly.

“Since when do you talk to me?” She asked him, crossing her arms. “You rarely talked on that train, I thought the cat had eaten your tongue. Glad to see you still have it.”

“Shut up.” He hissed and climbed in on the chariot, standing tall and at the ready for it to move forward, though it wouldn’t for a good amount of time still. She hoped he knew he looked absolutely ridiculous standing there when not everyone was there still, and there was no sign of the chariots moving forward yet. “Look, just know that the fact you have Beetee’s support doesn’t mean anything. I won’t spare you in that arena. It won’t help you stay alive longer, either.”

“Wow, thanks for the support.” She snapped sarcastically, before rolling her eyes. “Look, I don’t like you much at all either. Stop acting as if you’re high and mighty, you’re not. You’re stuck in the same situation as all of us. You also look absolutely ridiculous, but that’s not the point here.”

“I don’t look ridiculous-”

“Trust me, you do.”

Neem was about to open his mouth to add something else, but the doors to the streets of the Capitol slowly opened. That shut him up quickly enough, as his head snapped to look forward, his eyes wide and terrified. Jess simply sighed and climbed on the chariot after that, knowing that District One would advance soon enough and that their turn would come soon, too.

She stood tall when the chariot lurched forward, slowly but surely, before taking speed.

The Games were now, truly beginning.


	4. Chapter 4

“Not good enough. Try again.” Beetee said, slamming the sheet of paper back in front of Jessica. It was the night of the first day of training, and as he had promised on that train, he was helping her out. They had been at this for a good three hours now, and she just knew that she would feel that lack of sleep in the morning. He had been cramming her head with so many facts, so many things to know about survival and how her talent could be used in the arena, she could barely hear her own thoughts anymore. This was the… third or fourth plan he threw back in her face, with the excuse it wasn’t good enough.

“How is it not good enough?” She snapped, a little irritated as she took back the sheet of paper in her hands. She read all the facts Beetee had written down on the sheet, the messy handwriting hard to read from how tired she was. She then read her own plan in pencil, which, sounded completely reasonable and like it could work. She didn’t understand why it couldn’t _theoretically work._ “I followed all the tips you gave me with that last one, I used them, how is it not working again?”

“The last terrain I gave you was a forest, where I told you that you could use a distraction with sound to get people in the trap you had chosen,” He began, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses as he sat in front of her. This whole thing was tiring him out too, that much could be seen. There was also the fact that he had been at some sort of party earlier that day to try and get sponsors, though she had no idea how that had went. “Now, I gave you a snowy mountain prone to an avalanche if you so much as talk too loud. You tried getting them in there by sound. The only thing it would have done is possibly kill them, yes, but also you in the process.”

“...Oh,” She said simply, her hands tightening a little, causing the paper to crumble in her hands a little. How had she looked over that fact? She wouldn’t have written that down earlier, had the scenario been given to her then. She felt so stupid. She hated it, and she blinked away the tears that were welling at the corner of her eyes. Why did she want to cry? She had to be tired. Yeah. That must be it. “I hadn’t… I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Of course you didn’t,” He sighed, before looking at her with his tired eyes. He stayed silent for a few seconds, only observing her. She didn’t know what was going through his mind, but he eventually only shook his head. “Look, we’ve been at it for long enough. We’ll continue tomorrow night. Go and get some rest, you’ll need it.”

“Yeah… thank you,” She muttered, leaving the sheet behind her as she got back up on her feet to go to her room. She hadn’t seen anyone for an hour or two, now, Neem having barricaded himself the moment they had come back from training. She didn’t know what he had been doing during training that day, and she figured it would probably be better if she knew, but she didn’t particularly care. Though… she supposed she had one last thing to ask before she went to rest for the night. “Beetee? Can I ask you something?”

“...Yes, of course,” He answered after a second or two, frowning a little. She supposed he hadn’t expected her to have more questions before she went to sleep. Or if he did, he didn’t show it. “What do you have to ask me?”

“Have you… have you gotten any sponsors for me yet?” She tried tentatively. She wanted to know. She needed to know, truly she did. Though… she was scared of the answer. 

“Jessica, I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”

“..So, you have none, uh?” She said, panic getting to her heart. She moved back and fell in her chair, her hands folded tightly on top of the table to keep them from shaking. She needed the sponsors. If she got injured, and nothing in the arena could be used to treat her injuries, sponsors were used to send her the medication needed. In some rare cases, they sent weapons and food, which were desperately needed if you got nothing to defend yourself with or to eat.

“I didn’t say that,” Beetee was trying to change the answer, though they both knew that she had been spot on. There had been no sponsors for her or Neem. Well, Neem probably had one despite his disgusting outfit on the Chariot. She doubted Beetee would tell him that if he had gotten any for him. 

“But it’s true, isn’t it?” She laughed a little dryly, though she knew it wasn’t exactly Beetee’s fault. She didn’t choose who the sponsors decided to back up. She was wondering if it would have helped to hide her freckles, now. It probably would have, even if a little. Someone who knows the trends of the Capitol usually was able to get one or two sponsors more than the others. At Beetee’s silence, she only chewed on her nails, trying to figure out what to do next. “Who are the ones who have sponsors so far?”

“Most sponsors are going for the girl from Nine so far,” He muttered, frowning as he thought and tapped his fingers on the table as if he was trying to count. “One and Two have the usual ones going for them, and surprisingly enough the girl and boy from Twelve have one or two already. The others… I don’t know.”

So, Daffodil, Onyx and Ruby, two whose names she hadn’t remembered, and Reyna and Jax.

“But you don’t have to worry,” Beetee continued after that, trying to give her a shaky smile, though it quickly faded away. It was obvious he was trying to believe in what he was saying, though he had probably calculated his probabilities and come up with some disturbing numbers. “I’ll have some ready for you by the time you go in the arena.”

“Yeah… thank you, Beetee.” She raised herself from her seat, and didn’t even bother wishing him a good night before she made her way towards her room. The door in front of hers slid open, and she sighed at the sight of who stood there.

“So… having some difficulties, there?” Neem was grinning, obviously glad that she was having troubles. She should have known he wasn’t sleeping. She should have known he was listening. He was bitter since the train, ever since Beetee began showing interest in her and none in him. She could understand being bitter that your chances of survival were low, but the fact that he kept nagging at her and bothering her, that irritated her. 

“Neem, if you have nothing good to say, I recommend you keep your mouth shut,” She said tiredly, sliding her door open before making her way inside her room and slowly closing it behind her. “Otherwise, you might lose your tongue once we are in the arena.”

She didn’t know what she was supposed to do now.

She had walked into the Games with confidence and determination, fully believing that she could somehow charm the Capitol into giving her the win by supporting her and helping her out, but she should have known she would be as forgettable as many of the other tributes. She had done the same thing Neem had done, believed herself high and mighty, riding her horse into battle with no knowledge of what a true battle looked like. She was definitely falling from that horse now, hitting the ground and exhaling all air that was left in her lungs. She certainly felt like she had no chance of picking herself up after this, but at the same time, she did her best to tell herself that this was just the first day. Things could change for her. They could turn around, but some voice in the back of her mind kept telling her the contrary.

She wondered how her family was doing back home. Were they worried for her? Who was she kidding? Of course, they were. They weren’t getting any news from her now that she was in the training section of the preparation for the Hunger Games. No information was coming in from the outside world, and no information would be going out. So she just knew that her aunt must be biting at her nails as she sits in front of the TV every night, hoping to get even a hint of what was happening in here, even though she probably knew she would get nothing.

She knew that Cassandra would be coming around the home as often as she could, despite the fact she was stuck with a husband that would do anything to keep her from her family. She could practically hear the arguing erupting between the two of them, Cassandra arguing to be able to at least see her mother, her husband arguing right back that her family was him now and not them. It was bullshit, of course, and they tried talking her into having a divorce, but… she had a tendency to not fight for what she wanted.

She knew that Daniella would be making more mistakes at the factory now, her mind elsewhere as hope pumped in her veins. She knew that despite her trying to reign herself back in to not get fired, she would be hoping for something better. Jess knew her cousin would be hoping for her to come back safe, so that they could continue their life once again, though this time… with better odds. A better home, a better way of life. She had begun to hope, and Jess seriously thought that she must be dreaming of so many new things now.

She knew that Ariel would be saying to anyone who was willing to listen to her that her cousin would be coming back home. She knew she would be telling tales of things she hadn’t done to make everyone think she had better odds than she probably did. She would be standing on the plastic tables of the school cafeteria, smiling wide and her eyes sparkling as she planted hope into the students of their school’s heart. Ariel always had that talent, of making things sound better than they were.

As she stared at the ceiling of her room, only now did she realize how much she truly missed them. She missed her cousins, she missed her aunt, and she missed the few friends she had in school. She missed her home, she missed the storms that made the windows rattle.

She missed her District.

She cried herself to sleep that night.

She certainly felt the effects of it along with the lack of sleep when she stood in the elevator the next morning. Neem was standing next to her, looking just as tired as she was, and she supposed she was grateful for whatever mercy he was giving her by not mentioning her still very red eyes. The breakfast that morning had passed silently, the realization of what truly was their situation hanging over their heads. Despite that fact, however, she was still very much aware that nothing would change. No friendship would form, no nothing. If anything, she knew their rivalry only got worse.

When the doors of the elevator again, she scanned the room to see who was already there. Daffodil stood at the back, waving some swords around and trying her hand at fighting some dummies. She had an instructor standing near, obviously making sure she didn’t hurt herself, and occasionally stopped her to give her some tips. Onyx and Ruby were at different stations, Ruby standing near the camouflage one and Onyx working with the bows. Jax, in his case, was working at the one that taught you how to start a fire, while Reyna was… nowhere to be seen.

She frowned. Well. It was no matter. 

She took a deep breath and slowly made her way towards the activity with the weights. It was close enough to Ruby that maybe, just maybe, she would see her and come train with her. Maybe observe, maybe simply talk. The instructor smiled at her, and she shakily smiled back, before awkwardly taking a stance and bending down to try and lift one of them over her shoulder to hopefully throw it.

“You’re doing it wrong,” A voice said from behind her, and she dropped the weight dangerously close to her foot out of surprise, before turning around to stare at who was there. Ah. She was wrong. Reyna was right there, smiling there. Her hair was braided high on her head, and her eyes were sparkling with… something. She didn’t know what. “Let me show you.”

The woman walked to the weight, go in position, took a deep breath before crouching down and lifting it up, slowly getting it over her shoulder before throwing it at arm’s length. She had made it seem easy, and obviously, she was happy with the result if the way she beamed at Jess when she turned back around meant anything. Her smile quickly turned awkward, however, as she stood there.

“...How are you even able to do that?” Jess asked, blinking in surprise. The weight had gone… really far. There was no way in hell anyone she knew would be able to do that, normally. They all worked in factories, they assembled various things for a living. They didn’t need strength to do so.

“Learned back home. Helped some of the merchants move some of their deliveries for money,” Reyna answered, clearing her throat awkwardly as she looked at her shoes. “It’s. It’s not that hard, really. Built a bit of muscle, but it’s all technique-”

Jessica stared at Reyna as she continued ranting. Her gears were turning into her head as she frowned, as a thought dawned on her. Reyna acted as if she was trying to make friends, that much was obvious, and as it was said to her, she was one of the few people who had sponsors already. If she were to make friends with her, or at least allies, and stuck with her in the arena…

...she could benefit from those sponsors.

“Would you be willing to show me that?” Jess said simply, cutting off Reyna’s rant. The girl stopped, blinked in surprise at Jess, before beaming once again.

“Of course!”


	5. Chapter 5

“What score do you think you’ll get?” Reyna asked her, sitting near her as they watched the first one get in. Onyx. The week had passed by slowly, with days upon days of training. She had stayed close to Reyna the whole time, seeing the girl had become more of an ally that Neem ever could have been. As much as she had not wished to be close to the girl, to keep her distance and to keep as such- an ally- Reyna proved herself to be very attaching by the fourth day. Beetee was glad she had found herself a way to have sponsors, despite the fact he had been able to gather one or two for her. The more she had, the better. So, if she technically stole some of Reyna’s… who would care?

“I don’t know,” Jessica answered simply, already biting on the nail of her thumb. She didn’t know what she would show. It was a bit difficult to show off her smarts in there, she couldn’t exactly find a way to show off what Beetee had been teaching her after the days of training. There was no one to give her conditions and come up with a plan for it, there was no one who would be willing to watch her doodle a plan on a sheet of paper. She supposed she could find a way to show something once in there. Maybe her knots. Though, they still definitely needed a lot of work, as she had begun learning them at the last minute. “Something not too high, hopefully. I don’t want to be shot down from the start.”

“Yeah… smart,” Reyna commented, with a sigh. She stayed silent after that, humming as she thought. One thing she found about Reyna was that the girl had a tendency to fill out the silence no matter what. Humming, popping sounds, cracking her fingers… anything to occupy it. She didn’t know why, but at the same time, she didn’t judge it. She just hoped that for her sake, she wouldn’t do it in the arena. “I think I’d be happy with an eight. Or a seven. It’ll make people leave me alone for a while....”

“An eight wouldn’t be too bad,” She admitted absent-mindedly. She watched as the girl from two went in now, meaning that once Neem was in there… she would be called right after. The stress was definitely getting to her now, as she sat there, chewing on her nail harder than she did before. Her foot was bobbing up and down, and she was desperately trying to calm herself down before she went in there. Eventually, however, she was still called. Much to her disappointment. She wished she could have pushed it a little. “I’ll see you for the interviews tomorrow?”

“You bet.” Reyna grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, and Jess simply grinned at her weakly before turning on her heel and making her way inside.

She didn’t know what she had expected of the room where she would be showing off her skills. Sure, she had expected the Judges sitting behind glass, chatting and watching from time to time, obviously keeping an interested eye on her, but she hadn’t expected the range of things that were given to her. There was everything that you had access to in the training room, and even more. There were plants, there were weapons she hadn’t even dreamt of ever touching, and there were various types of ropes and other little things she could use. She bit her lip as she looked around, trying to figure out what to do. She supposed… there was rope, and there were some metal pieces that could probably be used to come up with a trap. Better than nothing.

_“Do you even know how to make a net?” Beetee sighed to her tiredly, looking over her plan again. This was the third night and the day before they had reviewed over plants and various types of poisons that could be used as needed. Though she had never liked those, she knew that when making a trap… it could work. It could work, if you knew how to use it. “This is the third time you mention a net trap. But, do you know how to make one?”_

She grabbed the rope and frowned. She had done a quick class with the instructors for various types of knots, and she supposed that if she made them in a certain way… it could make a rough enough net. 

_“No… no I don’t,” She sighed and took back her plan. Nets were just very useful and could be easily used if you knew how to hide them. Which, she did. She hadn’t been taking the camouflage class for no reason. She had spent a good few hours in there, learning how to hide in nature. She supposed it could be used to hide mechanisms, too. “But I could learn.”_

She tied the last one, and grabbed the various pieces of metal that were laying around. There were a few tools that could be used, and thankfully they were ones that she knew how to use. Ones she had used at her chain back in the factories when she had to assemble something before setting it back on for someone else to continue building it up. This shouldn’t be too hard.

_“Make sure you do.”_

She connected everything together and rubbed at the sweat that had been budding at her forehead. This had been harder than she thought. She didn’t know how long she had been working at this, but she supposed it hadn’t been too long. She had always been a quick worker, but with no indication of time in here, she had no clue if she was being quick or long. She didn’t know if she would influence her end result. She hoped it didn’t, not too much at least. As much as she didn’t want a high result, she didn’t want a low one either.

When she placed the thing in place, she looked around quickly and went to take one of the stray dummies. She tried not to blush from embarrassment as she heard the judges start whispering between themselves, and she kept dragging the dummy before she raised it and threw it in the net. The mechanism got in work, and tugged on the rope, making the net raise and tighten. There were some flaws in it, and she knew that it would let loose at any second, but this was the best she could do. She turned to watch the Judges, who talked between themselves, and nodded before they gave her the sign that she could go.

She didn’t know how she had done, and honestly, she didn’t care all that much. It’s not like she had been given much time to think about it, anyway. Beetee pretty much dragged her away from the elevator the moment the doors opened, which was… very much unlike him. But considering he started immediately talking about which personalities would help her give her the most chances with the Capitol, she could see why not he was so bent on helping her out.

They had eventually chosen on the cold and smart façade. Which, resembled her the most, which wouldn’t eventually disappoint the people of the Capitol if she was to drift from it during her Games- and thus, avoid lowering her chances of survival. Because, yes, it was a reality of the Games. The Capitol’s favorite had more chances of being spared when they start their little ‘events’. Like last year’s sand avalanche, though that was caused by one of the tributes having gone insane and turned to cannibalism- supposedly, anyway.

The rest of the night had been a blur, as the stress of the camera slowly took hold of her heart and squeezed it, slowly but surely, making sure she suffered. She could faintly remember practicing lines with Beetee, him nodding in satisfaction and Fable coming around to take her measurements once again- because she had taken weight during the week, after all. She could remember dinner that night, with Neem looking particularly happy.

Then came when they got their score. She had gotten an eight, which was just fine with her, while Neem had gotten a nine. She had watched out for Reyna too, who had gotten a six. Good enough, but certainly could have gotten better. Neem certainly looked happy with his score, however.

“You do know that just means you’re stuck in a terrible situation, right?” She asked, lifting a brow as she looked at him. “People will come for you.”

“Why do you care?” He grinned, though there was a light of fear in his eyes. “Aww, are you scared for me?”

She scoffed.

“No.”

And it was the truth.

When the day of the interview came, she was terrified. She was supposed to continue practicing with Beetee, do some last-minute studying for the day after, when the Games would begin, and she was terrified. It didn’t help she hadn’t slept that night, eyes wide awake as she stared at the ceiling. There had been so many things running through her head. What if she tripped on stage and fell? What if Caesar asked something and she broke down crying? What if she stuttered from stress? There were so many things that could go wrong, and pretty much sign her death warrant. Which, to be honest, might as well be signed already. But this was her last chance to impress, and she couldn’t allow herself to do something wrong.

At least, Fable had gone all out with her dress.

“Fable, this is beautiful…” She said softly, passing the fabric under her fingers. The whole dress was in a shimmery fabric, though it wasn’t aggressive in any way. It was a discreet shimmer, one that you saw only when you moved and made the whole dress seem like a small rainbow. There were two long pieces of fabric that reached from her shoulders to her feet, like some sort of capes on each of her shoulders. They looked- well, they looked like wings. And the gold embroidered on it, made to look like some kind of… bee-hive?

“I wanted it to look a bit like solar panels without it being tacky,” She explained, at Jess’s confused look. Because while the Interview was a moment where stylists could go all out and divert from the theme that they had to follow for the parade, oftentimes, they followed the tribute’s District if only a little less closely. “You know, I kept thinking as I made it that it looked like wings. Makes me think of the myth of-”

“-Icarus.” She ended for her. She smiled a little. She didn’t know she would see that old myth she loved come back in here, when she was about to be interviewed before being sent in an arena where she would fight for her life. Though she did suppose it would be reassuring, to have that small memory of her childhood with her. Of reading that myth over and over under her covers, enough times she could probably recite it from memory. “I know. I think so too.”

“...Yeah,” Fable whispered, before smiling and straightening herself up a little, making her flower earrings dangle off her elf-like ears. “Now come on. Put it on. I need to see if I have to do any last adjustments to this.”

The dress was more beautiful on her than she thought it would be. She felt like a beauty, with that thing on, as she swirled to make the rainbow shimmer appear. Her hair was then tied back into a high ponytail, and a golden band was put under her bangs, right at the delimitation of her hair, a bit like what the people from Ancient Greece would wear. She felt beautiful, and she knew she was, as she stood in the elevator that would bring her to the stage where she would be interviewed.

The show began, and the first two District went by. Reyna had been there for her, thankfully, holding her hand and squeezing it to stop her from biting at her nails again. Her prep team had to put on fake nails, just for that night. She should be able to pop them off for tomorrow.

Then, she was called.

“Ah… Jessica Flores, it’s nice to meet you,” Caesar greeted, with a small smile as he sat on his couch, smiling to her and then to the crowds, before leaning forward a little, as if he was about to tell her a secret- or ask her about one. “Now… before we start, rumor has it your mentor, Beetee Latier, has practically taken you under his wing. What do you have to say about that?”

“It’s true, yes,” She answered, nodding a little. She wanted to smile, though she fought to keep it off her face. It was a little hard to keep her role up from the start- she hoped it would be easier to slip in it as the interview went on. “He has taken a… special interest in me, following a revelation.”

“And… what is that revelation?”

“I can’t tell you that,” She answered simply. Technically, she could, but it would be revealing something about herself that she could use in the arena. No one knew about it, not even Reyna. As much as she wanted to remain friends with her in the arena, remain allies, she knew that she might need to kill her at some point. So, she kept that fact from her. “You’ll learn in the arena.”

“Another secret, then, interesting,” Caesar smiled and turned to the audience as if asking if they thought so too. The light giggles that emerged certainly confirmed that fact. He turned back to her after that. “Now, I have some questions for you, to test what you know if you wouldn’t mind.”

“Go right ahead,” She answered, and tilted her head. “I’ll answer to the best of my capabilities.”

“Now… I heard that you could safely eat mistletoe and that holly was actually the poisonous one… is that true?”

She decided, right with that first question, that it would be a _long_ three minutes.


	6. Chapter 6

“...Jessica?” Fable’s voice said softly, obviously filled with concern. It was odd, to hear this from her stylist out of all people. She always had an image in mind of the stylists of the Capitol, she had always imagined them as stuck up and detached from the world, but while Fable had shown she sometimes didn’t know everything and that she didn’t always truly understand the implication of the Games and how much they _hurt_ , she had done what she could to help give her a good chance at winning, and she couldn’t be more grateful. She just hoped it wouldn’t be wasted. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” She assured, before putting down her cup of water on the table in front of her. She wasn’t fine, far from it, considering what was coming, but she supposed that physically she was indeed fine. Well, aside from the lack of sleep, anyway. She stared at the barely touched cup of water in front of her, trying to gather her courage before getting up. She had changed not too long ago into the outfit she would have for the arena. A pair of strong boots, a white and gray warm coat, and dark gray pants. “I should get on the pod.”

“If you’re sure,” The woman sighed and stayed close to Jessica as she made her way on the metal platform that would slowly raise her towards the surface, where the Cornucopia will stand. Fable fixed the girl’s ponytail quickly, pushed a stray strand of hair away from her face and behind her ear, before nodding and taking a step back. “Do you have anything from home for in the arena?”

“...No, no I don’t,” She admitted quietly. She hadn’t realized it was something she could have had with her, otherwise, she would have asked her family for something, during their goodbye. She doubted they had ever known, either. Anyway, it’s not like she had something she wanted to bring into the arena, and if she had, she probably would have been too scared to lose it somehow.

“Oh… well.” Fable bit at her lip for a second and looked behind her, before removing the flower pin she had stuck in her very short hair that morning. It was a small hyacinth, and it shone a little under the lights of the waiting room. The short woman moved to pin it at the base of Jessica’s ponytail, and when she stepped back, she laughed a little at her confused expression. “Just a little something.”

“It’s yours, I can’t take it-”

“Then, make sure to live and bring it back to me, yeah?” Fable cut her off and smiled, though… it wasn’t from happiness. It was bitter, sad, and… filled with something else she couldn’t quite pin her finger on. “Look, Jessica...you’re the first one I’ve had hope in for a while. Everyone before you… they had the determination you had, yes, but they missed the spark. They missed that little thing that made you want to cheer for them… and sure enough, they died in there. You, however, you have it.”

She stared at Fable for a few seconds, opening her mouth and closing it a few times. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say. Fable was showing faith in her; along with her family back home. She had more people believing in her, and she was grateful, truly she was, but… she was also terrified. In the beginning, she had truly believed she would win. She had truly believed she had a shot at this, but now that she was here, moments before it began… she realized that the Games wouldn’t be easy. She realized how there were so many people stronger than her, who probably knew more than her. There were tributes who had prepared for this for most of their lives and knew how to put their knowledge into practice, while she did not. There were so many odds playing against her.

“...Thank you,” She whispered and passed her finger over the pin now in her hair. “I’ll make sure to give this back to you, then.”

“Good.” Fable nodded and took a step back as the glass of the pod slowly began lowering to bring Jess back up. “Good luck.”

As she was slowly raised into the sky, and the sudden light made her squint, she wondered if this was how Icarus had felt when he had gotten his wings. She wondered if he squinted at the sun too, when he raised from the labyrinth, leaving behind him the world as he knew it. She wondered if this was when he truly fell in love with the sun, when he saw it for the first time properly again. She was being given her wings and told to fly, fly out of the arena, but would she fall in love with what she saw outside of it if she ever got out? Or would she recoil and wish she had remained stuck in there, dead?

**“Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome To The 70th Annual Hunger Games!”**

She supposed she didn’t really have the time to think about it now.

The Cornucopia was situated in the middle of a village. The place was in ruins, and some houses looked burnt, though she doubted they had actually ever been lived in. At least, she hoped they had never been lived in. She didn’t know what she would do if she ever learned people had been driven out of their homes, only for their houses to be burnt down for the sake of a game of death. There were also a few broken-down carriages, the wood of it looking as if it was molding. Most of them were missing a wheel, sometimes two. 

A faint cover of snow covered the roofs of the burnt down wooden houses, and there was also some on top of the Cornucopia. She wondered if an old religious building had stood there, if the way the stones covered some of the Cornucopia meant anything. So much care had been put in that specific building, it had to have been dedicated to something important. But it was no matter, as it was broken down now.

She looked around her and at the other Tributes near her. Reyna was farthest from her, and Neem was too close to her liking. She could see Onyx and Ruby close, too, though she couldn’t see Daffodil. As much as she wanted to see if she had a shot at running to grab something, the people around her showed that running might be a better shot to take. She could most likely raid someone’s camp later on, or find a way to gather the stuff she needed. Hell, she could probably work without anything. She could make a spear, and hunt and fish from there- if she even could, anyway.

She also needed to find a way to get to Reyna. Though, that could be figured out later on. Hell, she could most likely just find a way to get to her after the Games began. There had to be some caves she could check out later on or something along those lines. 

When the gong rang, then the world truly began to shake. Everyone jumped down, and Neem, along with some of the Careers and what looked like Daffodil had jumped down to get to the Cornucopia. She did not wish to be there to witness the bloodbath, and jumped a second after them, sinking into the snow behind her platform. Shit. They had most likely done it this way so that more people got on the territory that got to the Cornucopia, thus inciting more fighting. 

She couldn’t _afford_ to fight. 

She was able to get one leg out with little to no problem, but the other one was truly stuck in. No matter how much she tugged, it remained stuck. Panic made her heart start beating faster as she looked behind her. No one was coming yet, but she knew it was only but a matter of time before someone saw she was still behind her platform, stuck.

When she was finally able to tug her feet out of the snow, she forced her shaking legs to run. Run and run, without looking behind her. She couldn’t stop, she needed to get as far away as she could. The wind blew in her ears, making sure she didn’t hear anything as she ran. There could be someone following her, for all she knew, but it’s not like mattered right now. She just needed to get as far away as she could.

When she allowed herself to stop, she was at the entry of a small forest. Well, small would be an understatement considering it must be stretching for a good kilometer or two, well into the mountains before it eventually began to become less and less dense as it got nearer the height of the mountains. So. This year the arena had both a village, a forest, and a mountain. This would certainly guarantee some interesting fighting, and survival methods. She assumed that this meant the Capitol had found last year’s Games boring, too quick for their taste.

She looked behind her to make sure no one had followed, and when she saw that no one did, she muttered some curses at the sight of the footprints she had left behind her. Considering there were no others, it meant that someone could find her scarily easily. She couldn’t hide them all, however. She slowly made her way back and erased the prints she had done, along with the new ones, and she did so until she was far enough into the forest. When she judged that she was most likely safe, she searched around for a stone in the snow, and when she found one, she slowly began climbing the nearest pine tree. It would allow for some cover, and if she was lucky, it would shield her from the wind for the night.

She snapped a weak branch off the tree and kept climbing before she got at a good enough height that she would probably not be seen. If she was, anyway, it meant that the person was especially set on finding her. She put both her legs on each side of the branch and scooted back so that her back rested against the large trunk, and with a small sniffle, she got to work.

She allowed her thoughts to drift as she got to work. 

She didn’t know if the bloodbath had ended, back at the Cornucopia, or if there even had been one. Though she doubted there had been none, otherwise, the Capitol would have found a way to spice things up already. They wanted blood, and if there was none from the start, they would have found a way to have some. So, most likely the canons had simply not gone off yet, as there was still some fighting. She wondered if Neem had been killed off from the start already, as his Nine was part of one of the highest results of those Games. She didn’t especially care for the boy, nor did she wish he lived, but it was one of the facts she couldn’t ignore. She also wondered if Reyna had been killed.

God, she hoped Reyna hadn’t been killed.

While she had begun their alliance in the hopes of profiting off the girl’s sponsors, over the time they trained together, learning what the other could do, she had gotten attached to her. Reyna was a friend, one she hadn’t expected to have in the middle of all of this, and she hoped that she hadn’t been killed right away. She wanted to keep her friend, only for a little longer. Could you blame her? Not having anyone to laugh with you despite the smell of blood and death hanging around in the air, not having anyone to talk to despite the hunger gnawing at your stomach, was, well… not something she wished. She didn’t want to want to _be_ alone.

Her hands and nose were freezing by the time she finished carving at her rudimentary spear, and she tapped her finger at the end of it to see how sharp it was. Not ideal, but it could certainly be useful if she tried defending herself, or at least if she tried hunting. She nodded in light satisfaction and let the stone fall down.

An error, she realized quickly enough, as a crossbow bolt landed in the trunk right above her head.


	7. Chapter 7

She definitely regretted letting that rock fall.

She didn’t know how she hadn’t heard anyone come over, and she knew that it was a mistake on her part. One that could possibly cost her life, apparently. She stared at the crossbow bolt embedded in the trunk above her head, and she quickly got up, spear in hand to move to another close tree. She didn’t care if she was seen or heard. She needed to be faster than the person, possibly get them in some sort of chase long enough that they left her alone. This couldn’t be too hard, could it? She wasn’t that great at climbing, nor running on branches and jumping from tree to tree, but she had to work with what she had.

Her legs quickly guided her to the tree in front of her, and she jumped onto the near branch just in time, as another bolt got stuck in the branch she had just left. Adrenaline truly kicked in then, and despite the fact, her legs felt like they would collapse under her, she was able to get in a spot that the person couldn’t see her, but she could. She breathed hard as she squinted down, to try and see who it was. Dark hair, scarily white skin, and a scar above his hand…

Onyx Dunn. District One.

Now, it was a question of what she would do. She could run, and hopefully, he wouldn’t hear her. It would be the safest option of them all, considering she had only but a hand-made spear while he had a crossbow. So, yes, it would be the safest. But definitely not the most strategic. See, he couldn’t see her right now. So if she was silent, she had an advantage. She could sneak back down somehow, and try and kill him, or knock him out. Just so that she could steal his weapon. It could work if she was especially cautious.

Now. Choosing time.

She supposed that the answer was obvious. 

She took a deep breath as she snuck to another tree, her feet hitting the branch hard enough that it made it move. She inhaled and held it in, as the tree moved slightly. Onyx’s head snapped towards her, though a breeze of wind passed quickly enough and apparently he pinned it on that. She exhaled when he turned around, and she carefully began climbing back down. She tested each branch before putting her full weight on them, just in case they cracked and alerted her presence. When she finally hit the ground, she nearly sighed in relief at the fact that the snow didn’t crunch hard enough that she was heard. At least, not that she thought of.

She slowly began making her way forward after that, crouched with her spear held carefully so that she could throw it at a moment’s notice. She knew what she was about to do would kill the boy. She had accepted that she would have to kill. She had made her peace with it a long time ago, so why did she dread it? Why did she dread throwing her spear at him and watch it possibly harm it enough that he bled out and died, all alone in the snowy forest of the arena?

She hesitated just a moment, before throwing her spear, and that moment was just long enough for Onyx to turn around and shoot a crossbow bolt at her again.

She pretty much saw her life flash before her eyes as she threw herself out of the way, watching it shove itself in a tree behind her, and she quickly got back up on her feet to run at Onyx before he had the time to reach for another bolt in the quiver on his back. She threw herself at him full force, making Onyx fall on the ground on his back. Jess quickly pinned her spear on his throat, her two hands holding it to put as much weight as she could on it to hopefully choke him out and make him pass out.

Onyx was able to kick her away, however, and Jess fell on her back into the snow, harshly. She lost her breath for a moment, but thankfully Onyx did not come for her. He was busy coughing his lungs out from the lack of air, and it gave her the opportunity to swipe at his crossbow and one of the bolts that had fallen out of his quiver. She locked it in and aimed it at him. She was able to press the trigger, but Onyx turned to her, and…

“P-Please-” He coughed out, holding a hand out in front of him. His eyes were wide and terrified, something unseen before into a Tribute from One. Well, not necessarily unseen, but more… unlikely. Most Tributes from One and Two had a tendency to accept their deaths, accept their fates. They did not beg. So the fact that Onyx, out of all people, did? That was surprising. “Don’t kill me. Please…”

“It’s a bit late to beg for your life now, don’t you think?” She laughed a little, incredulity being one of the only things she could feel, other than panic. The adrenaline was still flooding her veins, making her body shake. She kept the crossbow as steady as she could, as she stared at Onyx. It would be easier to just kill him now, didn’t it? That way there was no chance of him turning on her. “You were just trying to kill me!”

“Would it have stopped you from killing me had you seen me first?” Onyx tried, his voice still just as desperate. He was still staring. It was obvious he didn’t know what move to do next. He could try grabbing for her spear, which was laying not far away, but he knew that if he went for it he would be shot immediately, and he would be dead.

But now, she was thinking. Would she have killed him first had she seen him? She was tempted to say no, that she was willing to let someone slip away if they didn’t see her, but the fact that he had been alone certainly made her think she probably would have tried making a swipe at him. After all, it was the Hunger Games, and if she wanted to get home… she needed to be the only one left. She pressed her lips together tightly, about to press the trigger and make the bolt fly out, but… that made her think. He was from District One, wasn’t he? He was a Career. He was supposed to be with his people, he was not supposed to be alone.

“...Why aren’t you with the Careers?” She tried slowly, and Onyx’s confusion and relief at not being killed right away were visible. His shoulders sunk a bit as he allowed himself to breathe for a moment. However, he wasn’t answering. So, she took a few steps closer and tried brandishing the crossbow, as if hoping it would make her look more intimidating. It probably did not. “So? Are you gonna answer or not?”

“Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Onyx begun, laugh a little in self-pity. He let the hand he stretched towards him wave at himself before falling to the side. He was propped up on both his forearms now, simply looking at Jess. He was still obviously scared, seeing he had a charged-up crossbow right in his face, but his emotions had shifted at the question. “But I am not exactly the ideal career.”

“...What does that mean?”

“I don’t have the bravery,” Onyx waved a hand around, trying to explain and gather his thoughts. Or at least, she thought so. “Or the musculature. Or the determination. I’m basically the contrary. I’m that outcast you find in the streets of your District, begging for scraps of food, though I never really did it- you get the gist. So they dropped me.”

“So you’re just pitiful.” She sighed and let the crossbow drop. She stared at him, watched him fall on his back from relief. She looked at the position of the sun in the sky, indicating that it was about… mid-afternoon. Considering it was winter, the sun would soon begin to fall back down. She needed to begin thinking about a safe spot, now. That, along with getting food and water. Then the canons rang. Eight of them, one after the other. Eight dead, and possibly her friend was in there. She bit her lip and sighed. “...Night is about to fall soon. Do you have food and water?”

“...I have beef jerky I found in the Cornucopia?” He blinked in slight surprise, and he scrambled back on his feet when he saw that Jess began moving towards him, only to grab her spear and throw it at him so that he could catch it. “Wait- why are you giving me this? Do you want me to kill you or something-”

“As much as you probably want it,” She sighed and kept her hands on the charged crossbow. The weapon felt nice in her hands. It was a reassuring weight, and she certainly was not giving it back to Onyx any time soon. “No.”

“Oh. Then why?”

“I’m trucing with you for the night,” She shrugged and walked past him, and deeper into the forest. “And only. For the night. Don’t come up with any ideas. Take it as pity from me, and nothing else.”

Onyx was… much kinder than she expected. He had a tendency to rely on self-pity humor, poking fun of himself the whole time, but other than that, he was nice enough. He liked silence, too, she had discovered. Which she very much appreciated, considering she did not wish to get attached to him in any way, shape, or form. They had a truce for the night, and by morning, one of them would be gone. At least, that much she assumed. She just hoped he wouldn’t kill her when it was his turn to keep watch.

They found a small space in one of the bigger trees after an hour or so of walking. The sun had begun setting, and some sort of half-darkness and half-light turned the sky a dark gray with streaks of blue. The spot was a bunch of woven roots that formed some sort of cavern around them and considering it was on the ground under a willow, it proved to give some cover. The fact that the two were huddled close enough in there also gave them the advantage of not having to start a fire. Yes, it was still cold, but the mutual warmth and cover from the wind certainly helped.

Her head snapped up to stare at the sky, once the hymn began. That small hymn, that would allow her to discover if one of her friends had died, that would announce if Reyna had died. Maybe Neem too, see if her prevision had proved correct. 

The first face was Jax, the boy from Twelve. She faintly remembered him from training and from the parade, but nothing else. The next one that streamed in was the boy from District Eleven. He hadn’t exactly done an impression in her mind, so she wasn’t exactly upset or disappointed by his death. He probably had little to no chances of winning from the start. Next was the girl from Ten, a small blonde she didn’t remember. She was probably one year older than Tara. The faces continued moving forward like this until the last person, the girl from Seven, faded away and the screen disappeared.

Two Districts had been completely eliminated, and she supposed she should feel some sort of sadness at that fact, sympathy perhaps for the families that would receive their bodies in coffins, but the only thing she felt was a wave of relief. It had begun with the boy from Twelve. Which meant that Reyna was still alive, somewhere. She was hopefully safe, and uninjured. Or at least if she was, maybe she was with another ally of hers. If she even had any.

“Who are you worried for?” Onyx asked her, seeing she was still staring at the sky, smiling. At the confused look he got in answer, he smiled just a little bit. “Not anyone pays that much attention to the deaths unless they’re scared for someone.”

“It’s none of your business,” She scoffed, and rolled her eyes, before crossing them and looking away. “You must be glad none of your Career friends died.”

“Nah, I don’t like them anyway. They’re annoying. Well, except for Ruby. Ruby is decent.” He shrugged, and it was obvious he didn’t care. Not that much, anyway. It was so odd to see someone from One act… like that. She always saw them as cold, people who thirsted for blood. She supposed she was wrong. She usually disliked being wrong, but… just this time, it was nice to be. “Can you get the first watch? I’ll get second.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” She sighed and watched as he curled up a bit on himself to go to sleep. Her hold on the crossbow tightened, and she looked forward, and into the cold night. She could barely feel her fingers anymore, but it didn’t matter. Not right now, anyway. She wondered if Onyx would be gone, by morning, when she would go to sleep after he woke up. 

She shouldn’t have been surprised that he was still there, in the morning.


	8. Chapter 8

“How is she doing?” Cassandra said the moment she entered their home, removing her shoes and kicking them away with little to no care. It was odd for her, considering she had always been the cleanest out of everyone in the family, always making sure everything was where it was supposed to be. So, considering she showed little to no care? It was very out of character for her. Though it made sense, considering what was happening. “Have I missed anything?”

“No, nothing yet,” Daniella reassured, sitting on the couch next to her mother. She held Aria’s hand tightly in her own, apparently not wincing despite the force her mother squeezed her hand with. Obviously, Daniella was used to such things, but it was still surprising she hadn’t shown any visible signs of pain yet. “Well, it depends on if you consider her kicking the boy from District One’s ass and taking him as an ally ‘anything’”

“Of course that’s something, god damn it, Daniella-” Cassandra sighed and went to sit on the ground in front of the couch next to Ariel, who was staring at the screen with a desperation she had rarely seen in the girl. She had acted as if her cousin would be coming back from the moment Jess had been named, though it was obvious that now she was showing doubt, along with a healthy dose of fear. Cassandra didn’t blame her at all. She put an arm around the younger girl and brought her closer to her, hoping to be able to calm her down. “We really have to talk about what you consider important in the future.”

“Hey, it’s the Games. Stuff always happens, you have to be the one that’s more precise.” 

“Girls, that’s enough.” Aria snapped weakly, her voice obviously tired and strained from the constant stress. She had always gained a handful more of silver hair from this, and it was obvious that her daughters’ bickering did not help her situation. She removed her eyes away from the television, though they kept moving back there every few seconds, obvious that she wanted to keep watching, but she was also worried about something else. “Cassie, no one saw you come over? No peacekeepers? You were safe? Your husband-”

“No, my husband did not see me or stop me, I made sure to take the alleys on my way so there were no Peacekeepers to stop me and tell me to go back home to watch the ‘mandatory show’.” Cassandra recited immediately, sighing. This was the regular, now. She always left the moment the show started despite the risk of being caught, as her husband didn’t really understand why she wanted to watch the show when her younger cousin was in it. He had never really been a good person, and truly she wondered why she had even married him, but she supposed what was done was done. 

“Good, good…” Aria nodded a little and grumbled her next words. “I never did like Phillip anyway.”

“Mom, now is not the time.” Daniella sighed, despite the fact that she very much agreed with her mother.

They remained silent after that, their eyes remaining glued on the TV as the heaviness of the situation hung in the air. Aria had been glued to her TV the whole week, in the hopes of having even a glimpse of her niece in the Training Center though she had known it wasn’t possible. She had been pretty much forced to go to bed every night by Daniella and Ariel, and they had been the ones to shove food and water under her nose so that she could eat. It had taken a toll on the both of them, and when the interviews began, they had all sunk into the couch out of relief at the fact that their mother began living by herself again after that. Yes, they knew what the interviews announced. But they needed the rest, and the stress that came with the Games did not help.

They could remember all thinking, however, that the girl on the screen during the interviews was not _their_ Jessica. That Jessica had been cold and detached and stated facts, and she certainly made you feel as if you were dumb if you thought anything else. Granted, Caesar’s questions had been indeed stupid, but that Jessica had not been their own. Their Jessica proved you wrong and showed you why with a voice filled with kindness, and she did not make you feel judged. They all missed her laughter around the house, they all missed her attitude and her occasional brutal honesty. Though when the Games began and that Jessica emerged again, they all had sighed in relief despite the fact that her death could be at any moment.

Cassandra stayed the night, and she did not bother to go back to her husband the next morning. She could go back home as she had done before, but seeing the state their mother was in about the fact that Jessica had nearly died following a fight she did not witness, she deemed it safer to stay with her instead just in case she had a panic attack in the middle of the night. Besides, it’s not like she cared much about what her husband thought of her. Not right now.

She also stayed the next day. And the day after that. And the one after. 

She found it easier than going back to her husband’s house, where she did not feel loved or safe. It was easier to be there with her sisters, and her mother, despite the fear that was running through her veins. It was easier to eat with her family while fear hung in the air, it was easier to hold your family’s hands while sitting in front of the TV instead of doing all of this, but with no support from anyone.

On the fourth day is truly when she decided that staying home with her family had been the best decision she had taken.

Jessica had remained in the alliance with Onyx for as long as she could. They had watched her every time she came on screen, and they had remained in the mountains for a long time, living off whatever they caught or found and drank the water found at the frozen lake at the base of the mountain. But for one reason or another, they decided to move… and that had been the fatal mistake.

There had been a small group, consisting of the male tribute from their District, the girl from Nine, and the girl from Eleven. They had been stalking the mountains for a few days, and Jess and Onyx hadn’t noticed them when they got out of the mountain.

She could remember clutching her mother’s hand as the fighting broke out, of two against three.

And she could remember the scream that left her mother’s lips when they saw Jess get stabbed on screen.


	9. Chapter 9

She wasn’t sure how the fighting had begun.

She could remember talking to Onyx about moving, considering how long they had been staying in one spot and the risk it could bring if anyone had been keeping tabs. She could remember talking to him, trying to convince him that moving to another spot would be their best shot. She could remember smiling when he had finally agreed, after a lot of arguing, and deciding that moving as soon as possible would be best. So, yes, she could remember packing up and leaving their cavern, before blinking at the harsh sunlight that came with hiding in the caves for who knows how long.

She could also remember a war cry, and the next thing she knew, she had to defend herself from blade after blade, after blade. It was terrifying, having to block with a wooden spear that was one hack away from breaking into your hands, adrenaline pumping into your veins and making your legs shake as they tried to guide you away from a fight, just to make sure you lived a little longer. But she couldn’t afford to run away. She wished she could, but she couldn’t.

She regretted not doing it when her spear broke into her hands, and Neem took that golden opportunity to swing his blade at her, making sure it stuck in her stomach, making sure it would _hurt._

Who knew that a blade could burn so much?

She didn’t know what she had hated most about being stabbed. The ticklish feeling that came first was definitely uncomfortable and one of the things she had hated the most, but the burning pain that took ahold of her next was definitely just as bad. It felt like a bright flame, consuming her whole. She knew she also despised seeing Neem standing there, his blade in hand, obviously satisfied with what he had done. Her blood covered the once silver blade, mixing with the old, dried one on it. She didn’t know who else had been stabbed with that blade, and she doubted she wished to know. It didn’t matter much now, anyway, did it?

“You know, Jessica…” He whispered, holding her face in his hands and forcing her to look at him in the eyes. She could feel the cold hatred mix with the burning pain, the chill of it as she stared in Neem’s satisfied brown eyes, a twisted grin taking hold of his face. This man had been corrupted to the bone by his hatred, and it was disgusting to see. “I thought you would have been more entertaining to fight than that. I’m disappointed. But, it’s no matter. You’re finally out of the way now, I guess that’s enough.”

“You know, Neem,” She laughed, spitting some blood on the snow when she was finally released from his hold. She wondered how quickly she would die from this. Because she knew she would, there was no denying that. She was losing blood, and quickly. She doubted she could recover from this if Onyx somehow survived and found a way to treat her. She just hoped she would be somewhere nice, in the afterlife, if it was even real. “Fate always come for the rotten ones.”

“That’s what you want your last words, to be, really?” Neem laughed as he threw his head back, before spreading his arms forward as he took a few steps back. “Come on, I thought you were smart. This is the Hunger Games, Jessica. The rotten ones _are_ supposed to win. In what kind of world have you been living?”

“A broken one.” She snorted, and she quickly regretted it as she started coughing. She spat out more blood, and she was already beginning to get dizzy. Sweat was accumulating on her forehead, and she could feel it slowly dripping down. But she didn’t exactly care right now. “You’ll see it eventually.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will.” Neem snorted, before sheathing his blade back in the leather holder at his hip after wiping it on his black pants. He looked smug as he took a step back, and his last words to Jessica were ones that she wished she hadn’t heard. “Daffodil. Ivy. Don’t kill her, yeah? I want her to suffer before she goes under.”

“...You’re sure?” Ivy asked, looking at her in light confusion. Her brown skin was covered with various scars, slashes upon slashes all along her arms. It looked like it had been painful, to say the least. It was obvious the woman from District Eleven held some kind of sympathy at seeing her die in such a way, and it was obvious she also wished she could add one more kill to her growing count. 

“Leave him boss around as much as he wants, Ivy,” Daffodil said simply, laughing a little. She didn’t even bother looking at her, and her sword was now also covered with blood. It was evident whose it was, and she could feel the dread settling in her stomach. She couldn’t see Onyx. She hadn’t heard anything from him, and she was seriously beginning to grow worried about what it implied. God, she hoped he hadn’t died. While he had accepted the fact he would die in the Games, she at least wanted him to be the one winning or Reyna. “If it makes him happy. Besides, she’ll die eventually. Whether we kill her now or later won’t change much.”

“...I guess you’re right,” Ivy sighed, before looking farther away, and pressed her lips together. “And the boy?”

“He might as well be dead,” Neem answered for Daffodil, before frowning and crossing his arms. “So. Are we going, or not? I want to track down the Careers that are still alive.”

They left soon after that, to Daffodil’s amused laughter, and Jess’s head fell hard against the snow-covered ground. She supposed she truly had no hope left, then. That answer truly showed that Onyx was on his way to dying. At least Reyna would be left alive. She would have a chance at this, despite everything. Another win for Twelve, two years in a row. In one way or another, it would certainly make history. That District had never gotten wins one after the other. It had happened for Four, it had happened for One, and it had for Two, too, but never Twelve. 

She wished she could see the wave of horror that it would bring, as she finally passed out.

\---

_The thunder was making the windows rattle, and Jessica was terrified._

_She had never been a big fan of thunder and what it brought. She had never liked the sound, too much like the loud machinery of the factories. It hurt her ears, it made her head pound, and she felt like at any given moment, something would strike their roof and destroy their home. Child fears, perhaps, but fears nonetheless. She had been living with her aunt and cousins for not long now, maybe a year, give or take. She was only six years old, and she didn’t understand yet that the thunder would do nothing, that there were far worse things in the world besides thunder._

_But she was only a child, and she would only learn these things much, much later._

_When the third loud crack boomed over their head, Jess yelped a bit as she buried herself deeper under her covers. She didn’t want to go see her cousins or her aunt. She didn’t want to show them she was scared of this. She was a big girl. She was old, she was strong and brave and… well. She refused to accept defeat. So, she made sure to stay under her covers, despite the fear that was settling deep in her bones._

_She hadn’t considered, however, that someone had indeed heard her._

_“Jess?” A small voice said, beside her bed. The person who spoke shook her a bit, and continued whispering, though this time it was indeed louder when she saw that Jess did not budge at all. “Jess! I know you’re awake. I’m five, not stupid.”_

_“...What do you want, Ariel?” She whispered, peeking from under her covers. She was very much disappointed in herself that she had managed to wake someone up, but she wasn’t about to turn the company away, even if it was her little cousin, who was a year younger than her. They had been getting along well, and despite how annoying she could be, she liked her a lot._

_“I heard you yelp.” Ariel climbed into the bed and pushed Jess a bit so that made place for her under the covers. She sat on the mattress, her legs crossed, and she nodded when Jess finally did the same. “Did you have a nightmare or somethin’?”_

_“No… I just don’t like the thunder.” She muttered and visibly winced when she heard it crack again, her fingers tightening on top of her bed covers. Her eyes darted towards the direction of the window, before going back to Ariel, who was sitting there, squinting at her. “What? I just don’t like it. It’s loud and scary, and it could hurt us-”_

_“Nah, it can’t.”_

_“...What?”_

_“It can’t. Cassie told me.” Ariel stubbornly repeated, crossing her arms. She nodded determinedly at Jess, who simply sat there, staring at her in slight confusion as to what the younger girl meant. Because after all, lightning could hurt someone. If you were outside in the rain and you weren’t careful, it could strike you down. She knew that. So, it didn’t make sense in her little six years old mind. “She said that there were these tall metal things outside and that the lightning strikes that instead of us and brings it into the ground or something. I believe her. She goes to school, you know. She also reads a lot more than we do.”_

_“...Oh,” She muttered and brought her knees to her chest. That… made sense. “So it really can’t hurt us?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“Okay.” Jess nodded and stayed silent for a while before an idea came to her. “Do you want to find a flashlight and make animals with the shadows?”_

_And that had been the end of it._

\---

Everything ached when she woke up again.

At first, she was confused. Mainly because she had just dreamt she was six again, and back in her home with Ariel, safe and sound despite the storm outside that had terrified her as a kid. She had woken up on a ground that was too hard, a place that was too cold, and she felt much, much bigger than she was than when she was six years old. Everything felt odd, and that didn’t make sense into her muddled and confused mind.

Then, she panicked. Everything came back to her at once, and she seriously felt like she had been smacked over the head and hard. She was in the Hunger Games, and she had been there for… a few days. She didn’t count, it’s not like she had cared much anyway. She had been surviving just fine, despite the fact that she nearly got killed by the male Tribute from One, but then something had happened a few days after, and the next thing she knew she was stuck in a fight with Neem, Daffodil, and Ivy the girl from Eleven. Her speak had broken into her hands, and she had gotten stabbed and she really thought she had bled to death.

So, why was she alive?

...And why was she in a cave?

“Hey, hey, Jess, calm down there-” A voice called out to her, and she tried scrambling away from them, but the only thing she felt was a sharp pain in her stomach. Oh. Yeah. It would be a bit hard to do if she had a gaping wound in her stomach, though- it didn’t feel gaping anymore. Someone took her wrists in their hands, and when she noticed the olive skin, she looked up and simply. Stared. Reyna. It was Reyna. Why was Reyna here? “You’re gonna open your wound again, I just got it stitched up-”

“...How did you do that?” She asked, and she winced at how rough her voice sounded. She supposed it made sense. She had probably been passed out for a while, and she doubted she had been able to drink anything for a little while. But, it wasn’t exactly what she was focusing on right now. She was focusing on the fact that her friend had found her, and had somehow been able to fix her up. 

“First thing you say after waking up?” Reyna snorted in pure amusement but eventually let Jess go. She was definitely not in a good state if the way she looked meant anything. It was obvious that the few pounds she had earned in the Training Center had melted away like snow in summer, and it was most likely the same for herself, too. “Well, I found a first aid kit off someone a while back, and there was the stuff in it to do some rough stitches, so… I did that.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“...Where’s Onyx?” She asked after that, though she already had a feeling of what had happened. But she needed to hear it. She needed to hear it, truly make it sink in.

“He’s… dead,” Reyna answered slowly, rubbing at her neck as she tried not to make eye contact. “I found you, and you were still bleeding out. A canon had gone off and I was afraid it was you, but you still had a pulse despite how much blood you had probably lost, so… I went to check on him after, and he was dead. Gone. No pulse, no nothing. But then again, his wounds really weren’t pretty. I took his crossbow and bolts, thought they could be useful.”

She had simply nodded after that, and gone silent. Because after all, while she hadn’t exactly killed Onyx, she had still caused his death. She had been the one to insist on leaving, going somewhere else. She had been the one to bring them out into the sun, and make them start fighting. It was her fault he had gotten injured by Daffodil and her sword, it was her fault he had bled out without anyone holding his hand. Though she supposed that while he had been able to live a little longer than what he had expected to, that death was still her fault. 

And she felt terrible for it.

Reyna seemed to understand if at least a little. She spoke for the both of them, rattling on about the food she found, rattling on about her experiences on her side of the arena. Turns out she had been alone for a long while until she stumbled upon them in the mountains. At least she wasn’t injured, despite the apparent hunger, and that was the best she could ask for. Reyna fed her and made sure she drank, and Jess was slowly gaining back her strength as the days went by.

Things had been too calm, and she knew it, as no canons rang beside one or two on the day she woke up.

So truly, she shouldn’t have been surprised that an avalanche was unleashed.

She shouldn’t have been surprised that it caused the two of them to be stuck inside that cave.


	10. Chapter 10

“How much food do we have?” Jess asked Reyna, huddling close to the small burning fire. Their faces were illuminated by the flames and gave them whatever source of warmth it could and lit up their surroundings. This was their only light left now and it was using whatever spare wood they had before the avalanche came slamming down on them. They had no access to the outside world, but despite that fact, some air was streaming in from somewhere inside the cave. So truly, their next move would be decided from their provisions. If they had enough to afford exploring deeper inside and finding another way out, they would, otherwise, they would need to start digging, even if it’s using only their hands and whatever tools they had- which. They had none of, besides their weapons. 

“Whatever dried meat Onyx still had on him after he died, berries, some rabbit from yesterday along with a few pieces of deer, but that’s it,” Reyna said, sighing. It was obvious that this new situation was weighing on her. After all, from what Jess knew, she had been sailing through the whole Games so far. She would have had a fair shot at this, had she not decided to stay with Jess and help her heal properly. She could have made it out, continued, and possibly won, but no. Reyna was stuck there with her, now. “So enough to last about two, or three days. Four if one of us is willing to skip a meal at some point. Same with water, though that should be a bit easier to control.”

“Alright… alright, so there’s no way we can go explore,” Jess mumbled, and bit at her nails. There wasn’t much of the nail left to bite, but it’s not like it mattered right now. She was stressed out of her mind, seeing she had her life to take care of along with Reyna’s now. She could have dealt with this alone if she had all that food to herself, she probably would have been able to dig herself out before she reached the end of her provisions. But, she wasn’t alone. “We’ll have to dig. It would most likely be best if we divided the food depending on who’s working- the person digging shouldn’t have to skip a meal.”

“So… who’s digging first?” Reyna asked slowly, chewing on her lip in worry. They were both stressed out, and they were both terrified they would die of hunger before they got out of here. It was a very big risk, and there were chances that something else would be sent at them too while they were stuck in here. Something that had been lurking deeper into the cave, something they hadn’t seen or heard before. There were so many risks, and they didn’t like their odds one bit. “I’m not hungry, so I could sit it out, but I also wouldn’t mind digging first-”

“I’m not hungry either.” Jessica cut her off. She was obviously hungry, of course she was, but probably not as much as Reyna was if the way she looked meant anything. Truly, it was both terrifying and worrying to see how sunk in her cheeks were. She also tired very easily, so she would rather not have her kill herself by working when she didn’t have the energy. “I’ll start. Eat my portion, I won’t need it.”

“Jess, I can’t take yours-”

“Reyna, I’m giving it. Take it.” She insisted, before getting up and stretching a little. She didn’t know how much snow there was out there, but they needed to get to work as soon as possible. Because the food would not last forever, and she didn’t want to think about what would happen if they ran out. Either fighting would break out, or one of them would die of hunger. She didn’t want to figure out which one it would be, so she rolled up her sleeves, and ignoring how cold the snow was, she began to dig. 

They were six left in the arena, according to Reyna.

Six people, counting her. Which meant that five people had to die before one of them went home. Before she passed out due to the wound Neem had given her, she knew they had been eleven. This meant that Neem’s little group had probably found the Careers left and taken care of them, which explained the two canons she had heard on the day she had woken up. She could imagine the satisfied grin on his face as he struck down the people left, as his kill count only got higher and higher. The arena had brought out the worst in him, and it was obvious that killing meant nothing to him now.

She wondered how he had reacted at the fact that Onyx had died but she had not. She would pay to his reaction, his frustrated scream as he realized he should have killed her on that mountain instead of leaving her there to bleed out. She had lived despite everything, despite the odds that were playing against her, and by god, she would make sure he regretted it. She would make sure he regretted stabbing her, she would make sure she followed her promise. He was rotten, and if she had to be fate, then so she would be.

She only switched with Reyna when she could barely feel her fingers anymore. She had done a good dent into the snow, considering it wasn’t that dense. It was easy to dig through it, but she knew that it would still take a while before they got anywhere. Reyna got up soon after she did, and with a weak smile, got to work. Jess didn’t know if she had eaten at all, she didn’t exactly have the energy to check the food at the moment. She fell asleep, and when she woke up again, it was to Reyna handing her a piece of beef jerky for her to munch on before getting to work.

They had no indication of time passing. None, nothing. All they knew was the shifts and the dwindling food. 

She should have seen the signs earlier, however, that she was the only one eating out of the two of them.

“Jess? It’s your turn to dig,” Reyna’s voice woke her up, and she blinked her eyes open. The woman looked absolutely exhausted and like she was on the brink of falling asleep at any given moment, which supposedly had made sense in her tired mind. She didn’t know how long she had slept, but she would bet that it had been a long time. Anyone digging for this long would be exhausted. “I’ve done a little bit, but I don’t know how much is left.”

She had just nodded as she got up from the uncomfortable floor, stretching as she did so. She heard her bones pop into place, and she took a deep breath before beginning digging. She had seen Reyna lay down on her spot and close her eyes fairly quickly, and she hadn’t thought much of it. She dug and dug, until… until she reached nothing but air. Until the sun seeped through and made her squint at the sudden harshness of it. She had felt a rare smile appear on her face as she turned around, about to announce this small victory, this tiny small thing, when the cannon went off.

“...Reyna?” She tried. Of course, her first thought had tried to go to the fact that it could have been someone else, anyone else. But as she approached the girl, she remembered all the little signs. Every single one of them. How she had gotten weaker and weaker with every shift, how she tired herself out more easily. All those things were signs of someone who was running on an empty stomach, and she _hadn’t seen them._ “Reyna? Reyna? Come on, I- I- I was able to get us a small spot so that we can crawl out.”

She crouched next to her, and she shook the girl’s body. There was no response. She went to check her pulse, and when she got nothing…

“Nonono-” She whispered over and over, shaking her friend’s shoulder in desperation, grief already coursing through her. There were tears budding at the corner of her eyes, and her mind kept screaming at her that this was her fault. Reyna had been stuck in there with her after she had decided to take her in when she had seen her bleed out on the snow. She had eaten everything, not even bothering to check Reyna had gotten his portions after digging. She had done nothing, and this was her fault that she allowed this girl, this wonderful girl, to give everything she had out of her dangerous generosity. She had paid for it, and she had died in the arena. “Reyna, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, I’m so-”

The hiccup that left her lips cut her off, and she moved away from the body with jerky desperation. She scrambled to take the crossbow and bolts, and she ran. She ran and ran to get away from the mountain, away from the pain she had caused to a family just by _taking._ She could feel her feet hitting the snow harshly, she could feel the cold winter hair make her hair whip around her head, she could feel the pain that the branches caused as she slammed past them like a desperate woman. She had been selfish and now, someone had died because of it.

She only stopped running when she got back to the willow of her first night in the arena, when she began her alliance with Onyx. She crawled in this small safe space, but despite all the sadness that she felt, no tears left her. She only stayed there, staring at her shoes, waiting. For what? She didn’t know. She knew that she should be fighting for her survival right now. She knew she should get to hunting, she knew she should be replenishing her water supply, but the only thing she could think about was the fact she was now alone. Truly alone. Everyone she trusted to some extent had died in there, and she truly felt that crushing feeling that came with knowing there was only you who could help you out.

She only snapped out of it when she received a package.

A small container, flying towards her on a silver parachute. Her first sponsor gift of the whole Games, and probably her only one. Her hands reached for it immediately, and she simply held it for a moment, staring at it. Why had Beetee only sent it now, when she had just lost her friend to hunger, out of all things? What kind of gift could one even send to help with this? She doubted it was anything that could help her grief, but she still opened it. She slid the lid open and stared in confusion at what rested inside it. It was some kind of metal wire, the kind one would use for traps. Why was she given this, out of all things? But… she did a small double-take.

It could be used for traps.

_For traps._

Beetee had given her what she needed for a trap. Metal wire, which meant that it would allow electricity to go through it with little to no problem. It was only a question of how she would use it. She needed a way to make sure everyone she targetted was hit with a strong shot of electricity so that they all died at once. So, her best shot would be to trap all of them in one place, at one moment, with no room for error. A net to trap them inside it and fry them would probably be the best way to go at it, but how the hell was she supposed to find a way to group them all in one place? It was nearly impossible to do in one shot. So, the gift was useful, yes, but it could be useful if she didn’t think of something and quick.

Despite the sadness that still pressed on her shoulders, despite the grief she felt, she got to work. She needed to be alive for this. So, she gathered berries, she went back and got water. She went through her day as she usually would, though she was careful to make sure no one was around her. She sat through the hymn that night, and she nearly cried when she saw Reyna’s face shine in the sky that night.

Then, they announced a Feast.

A place where everyone could go to get what they needed, whether it was food or another item.

And she just _knew_ how she could make her plan work.


	11. Chapter 11

Beginning her work at night had probably not been her best idea.

It was too dark, she had no light source besides what the Cornucopia provided with its dangling lightbulbs in the back of it, and she could feel the cold deep in her bones despite her warm clothes. It was the worst conditions possible to start setting up a trap, but she had to make due. This had to be ready by morning when she knew Neem’s little group would come to get their Capitol-provided packages. Sure, she could simply steal them and watch them struggle, but she wanted them dead. She did not want to risk her getting killed, despite how tempting it may be to simply give up. She needed to win, for herself, her family, and the friends she couldn’t save.

She had to.

She dumped her crossbow next to her, the quiver filled with two or three bolts still slung over her shoulder. This was the only weapon she had left, and she supposed that the wire was like a small blessing in itself. Because she knew that three bolts would not be enough for four people, she knew that she would probably be killed by someone else before she even could use those three bolts too. A crossbow was a weapon of range, and Neem’s entire little group had weapons that were used in close proximity. So if they even got past the range she had that would make it easy to shoot, she was done for. So, having that wire to make a trap, something lethal, it was a huge help.

She untied the wire from her hip, cursing a little from how hard it was to untie the metal knot she had made. At least it meant that her net would not undo itself when everyone was trapped inside, though she would need to make sure it was tight enough to hold itself up anyway. She tested the strength, she weighed it a little, and figured out how much she had. She had more than enough, and she wondered how Beetee had even paid for that thing. The longer the Games went on, the more things cost to buy and send. So, this probably cost an arm considering how long everything had been going on. Though she was more than grateful, and she would make sure to use it properly.

She unrolled most of the wire and laid it down in front of her on the snow, and sniffled and wiped at her nose before frowning and trying to remember how to make that one specific net she had been shown. It shouldn’t be too hard, right? She had difficulty when they had shown it, but if she was patient as she worked and verified everything two times… she should be fine. She rubbed her cold fingers for warmth and then began working, frowning and grumbling at moments at how hard this was. She hoped she would never have to do this again, she hoped she would never have to make a trap again. This was a significant pain in the ass.

She wondered, as she worked, how her family was handling this. After all, they had watched her get stabbed in the stomach, and seemingly come back from death, considering how unlikely it had been for her to survive this. She knew that they had been relieved from that fact, but she also wondered how they had reacted to the fact that she got trapped in her cave. She knew they had probably not seen anything from her for days, and she couldn’t imagine the relief they had gotten at seeing her escape despite how weakened she had been and how shaken with grief she was. Had they not seen anything from her at all, during those days? She didn’t know if the Capitol had cameras everywhere, but they probably knew she was still alive since no canons had rung for her and Reyna at the time after the snow fell down. 

She was cut off from her train of thoughts when a canon rang, however. One, single canon. There were no others, nothing that could possibly announce the fact that Neem’s group had begun killing each other already. They must have been hunting the other person left besides her and found them, or that person had ended their own lives. They could have succumbed to something else, too, of course, but at this stage in the Games… who knew anymore. This meant, however, that Neem’s group would begin hunting for her soon. She needed this ready as fast as possible and set up for their arrival.

She finished her net as quickly as possible, and once she verified everything and tightened the knots again at the best of her abilities, she sighed and stood back. Alright, this was the best she could do the net. She supposed she should thank Beetee for forcing her to take those classes back in the Training Center, it certainly came in handy now despite the fact she was still just as bad as it. Now, it was a question of how she would make sure her net was set off to lift them in the air and trap them. Because as much as she wanted to say she was done and it was just a matter of waiting, she needed to figure that part out.

“Alright… what next,” She muttered to herself, before bringing her thumb to her mouth to chew on the nail. She could always check deeper in the Cornucopia, see if there was anything else that she could use or deconstruct in the hopes of rebuilding something out of it. Though she knew that just having the pieces all made would be easier. She knew it, of course she did, but it was the Hunger Games. There was no way the Capitol would make this easy for her. “Guess I’ll check.”

She sighed and got up from where the net was and walked deeper into the Cornucopia, kicking some of the rotten food away with her boot. It was mostly fruits and other stuff, that remained untouched. She was surprised no one else took it, but considering the Careers had been left alive until only recently, it made sense this had remained there just in case any of them were guarding or the whole group stayed there. Apparently not. She looked continued looking through with a grumble, though… she did find a couple of pieces. A wheel, whatever metal pieces she had used to make her trap originally during her testing… she supposed the Judges had liked her idea in one way or another.

She had also spotted the huge battery in the back of the Cornucopia, the one thing that charged the light bulbs that dangled off the ceiling to light everything up. It didn’t seem locked in any way, and if she opened it- which she did- there were places where she could most likely easily connect the wires that remained so that she could make the electricity go through. She had enough of the loose wire left for it to work. After all, she had a ridiculous amount on that small wheel she had been given. She noted that in the back of her mind when she made her way back and got to work on making everything properly work.

The sun was rising when she finally finished her trap.

She roughly placed the net in front of where the table would rise, holding the bags of stuff that would be given to them. She did her best to camouflage the metal, making it seem like it was either part of the Cornucopia or as if it was broken. She was able to cover the net with snow at least, and she knew that it would seep through the holes when it raised, so there should be little to no problem for the electricity to pass.

When the table rose from the ground, she scattered to hide behind the nearest boxes near the table, and she could feel her heart beating hard in her chest. This was it. Everything would end soon, if this went as planned.

“Do you think she’s gonna be here?” Ivy had been the one to ask, and she sounded, well… exhausted. She could hardly blame the girl. She would be exhausted too if she was associated with Neem in any way, and had killed as much as she did. She supposed she would be the only one she would feel some kind of sympathy towards when she would connect the metal wire to the electricity in the back of the Cornucopia. She had been the one to propose they kill her right away, in some sort of mercy.

“If she’s smart, she won’t be,” Neem snorted, and she was surprised he didn’t sound more irritated than he was. She had expected a lot of anger from him at the fact that she was still alive, though she supposed that this was satisfaction at the fact that he was closer to winning than he ever had been. It sickened her. “Besides, I’ll find her eventually. She can’t be doing that well, with that wound of hers.”

“So, so... we’re doing what we talked about, right?” Daffodil began, and her voice was as cold and authoritative. This was a woman with a plan, and she knew how she would play it out. “We grab our bags all at once, and we run in different directions. We give each other thirty minutes of truce. That didn’t change?”

“Yeah. That didn’t change.” Ivy confirmed, and she assumed Neem had nodded because the woman from Eleven sighed heavily. “Alright. Grab the bags on three.”

As much as she wanted to leap up the moment she heard them start counting, she remained in her spot. She took deep breaths as anxiety took over, wondering if the net would work. Had she fucked it up? Was everything fine? It had to be, she had worked so hard for this, it couldn’t fuck up. 

Then, she heard the screams of surprise and horror when the net was lifted up.

“What the hell is this?!” Neem exclaimed pulling at the net with his bare hands, horror making his eyes wide. His voice was filled with anger, however, and she wasn’t even surprised at that fact. When she raised from her spot, she could only grin at the glare she received in response from Neem. “You.”

“Oh wow, you have eyes.” She snapped and raised an eyebrow as she leaned on the table, right next to the bags. They couldn’t reach her even if they tried, and she could feel the satisfaction of the trap having worked roll of her like waves. “How does it feel to be trapped in a net by the person you nearly killed, Neem?”

“Not enjoyable,” He said through gritted teeth and the only thing it did was make her grin a little. “I’d prefer being outside of it.”

“I figured. Thankfully, you won’t be trapped in here for much longer.” She pushed herself off the table and turned on her heel, slowly making her way deeper into the Cornucopia. She could hear Ivy and Daffodil struggle in there along with Neem, knowing that whatever came next wouldn’t be good. They knew it, and they wanted to leave, though she knew that wouldn’t happen. When she reached the battery, she turned it off and unplugged one of the wires that connected the lightbulbs. She shoved the metal wire in there and tied it properly so that electricity would go through. “Goodbye, Neem. Won’t miss you.”

She switched the electricity back on, moved away, and then the screams came. The screams of pain, ones that she knew she would hear in her nightmares. They were horrible, but this whole thing? It had to be done.

The announcement came when the screams finally died down.

**“Congratulations To The Victor Of The 70th Hunger Games, Jessica Flores!”**


	12. Epilogue

She had gotten what she wanted.

She had gotten it, but she knew she had burned the same way Icarus had. They had both gotten to their suns, but their wings had burned and they had fallen down and down until they slammed into the dark stormy waters. While Icarus had died because of it, she had lived. She had lived, but she was living the consequences of it. She was living through nightmares, she was living through the memories of when Reyna had died, when Onyx had died. Despite how much she wanted to forget the screams that had left Daffodil, Ivy, and Neem's lips, she kept hearing them in her dreams. She kept seeing their faces, everyone she had met and talked to.

She supposed it’s what came with coming back home.

Her family had been more than elated to see her, and despite the fact she knew they would show her support, she hid most of the stuff she went through from them. She showed some of it, of course she did, but the heavier stuff… she kept to herself. It was easier this way. It was easier for them to think she was doing fine and coping how she could, than for them to know she spent most of her nights awake in the basement of their new home, creating. Creating again and again, just so that she could feel she was somehow redeeming herself. She wanted to give back for everything she had taken, and this was the only way she knew how.

She spent a year like this. She had gone through her victory tour, though the moment she had free time she spent it locked away in her room, writing, drawing, anything. Beetee never really stopped her, he seemed to understand the feeling somehow. They were the same in that way, and so was Angelo. It seemed it was a thing Victors from Three had, didn’t it?

“Jess? Beetee said he wants to see you!” Ariel screamed from upstairs. She was fourteen now, and she would be going through her Reaping soon. Jess just hoped she would never be picked. She doubted she would be, but she still hoped. Because after all, it had happened for her at that age. Maybe it would happen to her too.

“Tell him he can come down!” She screamed right back, and she moved back to wipe her hands on her pants hastily before turning off the tool she was using to melt the metal together. She turned with a smile towards Beetee when she heard him come down, and pushed her protection glasses up on her head, making some of her already messy hair stand in all directions. “Didn’t know you were coming around today.”

“I didn’t think so either,” He replied, and reached for a small ball of metal and lifted it up to his face to look it over. “Working on anything new?”

“Um, yeah, but I would recommend you put that thing you’re holding down, it’s still really unstable and nearly exploded in my face the other day-” She grinned a little when she saw Beetee put it back down, obviously trying to be casual, though she had seen the speed at which he had done it. “Yeah. Working on a new prototype for artificial limbs. I know the Capitol provides them, but I figured Victors would like a little safety thing on it to be able to remove it whenever is needed for defense or something along those lines. But it’s still really heavy, so it’s still in experimentation stages.”

“Have you considered a lighter metal?” Beetee tried, and approached her work table, lifting it up to look over the tiny artificial hand. It was black and really heavy, though he was turning it over and weighing it, inspecting everything. “You could also remove some of the weight off the wrist and redistribute it everywhere else.”

“I know, I tried redistributing weight, but it’s still just as heavy. And I did order some lighter metal, but it’s not coming in until Wednesday, so I’m trying to figure out something else meanwhile.”

“I have some extra, I can give you some of it.”

“That’d be great,” She agreed, but eventually took the hand away and put it back on her workplace. “Now. What are you doing here? You don’t come here unexpectedly.”

“Yes, yes... “ Beetee sighed, and adjusted his glasses a little nervously, before nodding. “I have a question for you. When you mentioned in the arena that you lived in a broken world… did you mean it?”

“Who wouldn’t?” She laughed, shrugging. It wasn’t happy in any way, as she had been before, of course. It had grown bitter, and perhaps… a little bit angry. “They send children in an arena and expect them to fight. I nearly died in there. Some die outside of it of hunger or cold every day. Who wouldn’t think they live in a broken world?”

“If I were to tell you that you could fix it,” Beetee continued, after nodding. “Would you take that opportunity?”

She waited and stared at him for a few seconds. Thinking. Thinking of what he said, and what it could possibly imply.

“I would.”

**Author's Note:**

> Oh!! Yes!! End notes!
> 
> So if you weren't aware, I have edited the first two books of the One, Two, Three series. I advise to go see what was changed, give it a quick reread, for when I finally start writing the third book!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


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